Some currently known and used bases for channelizing and delineating traffic devices have a base unit made solely out of used tires. These base units have the advantage of recycling parts of used tires. However, they have limitations in size. Bases made of truck tire side walls require a large space, such space is frequently not safely available in situations that require the use of delineating traffic devices. In addition they are not quite friendly in handling due to large size. Existing devices using stacked car side walls have the propensity to roll if knocked over, potentially creating a serious hazard to traffic. Besides, when a number of side walls are stacked to achieve increased stability, the safety requirement that the base be separable from the body in high impact is jeopardized.
Another prior art base unit consists of a plastic container filled with bulk or liquid ballast. This kind of base unit does not have the above mentioned disadvantages, but it requires filling with ballast, which involves a messy procedure, which is desirable to avoid. Devices using sand as ballast suffer from the further disadvantage of loss of sand in the event of breakage of the base unit.
A third type of prior art base unit only consisting of the pressed crumbles of recycled rubber has also been used. This kind of base avoids some of the above-mentioned limitations since it is practical, aesthetic and ergonomic. However, manufacture of this unit is quite costly. These bases are made of recycled, but not local raw material, thus adding high distribution cost to already higher production cost.
All above-mentioned devices suffer from being cumbersome due to absence of handy handle in the base.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,798 (Braverman) describes a base for a traffic control device, which utilizes all parts of a recycled tire, thus not just the side walls. The base has a handle and an anti-roll feature, but still is limited (in lesser degree) in application by size of tires available in postindustrial marketplace, and it lacks an appealing appearance.